Chapter 473: A monk sues Luo'er? One grab and you're sure to get him!

Princess Changning simply did not want to come to this Ningyuan Temple.

But her mother consort insisted on bringing her along every year.

This year, even her elder brother didn't come, yet she still wouldn't let her off.

What's so good about running to such a remote, broken temple?

Year after year, she has to stay for several days, saying it's for cultivation, to cleanse the hostility and sins on her body.

Aren't the people from the Second Princess's mansion kind enough?

In Princess Changning's eyes, this place is truly boring.

Being far from the Imperial City is bad enough, but every time they come here, it's only their own family.

With no friends to accompany her, no other relatives to keep her company, only maids and guards can walk with her nearby; for Princess Changning, it's nowhere near as fun as the Imperial City.

So, she now wants to speak ill of this place with all her might.

She only hopes her mother consort won't come next year.

Surely, upon hearing Princess Changning's words, Zongzheng Zhiyan's gaze became sharper and icier.

Jiechi hurriedly bowed, saying, 'Amitabha,' 'Your Highness Princess, this matter is truly not the fault of our Ningyuan Temple.'

'A group of merchants suddenly arrived yesterday. We had clearly told them that a noble person would come to the temple today. They indicated they didn't mind and wouldn't disturb the noble person before entering.'

'Our Buddhist door certainly does not have the principle of turning away people in need by a thousand li.'

'But these merchants are like bandits and robbers; not only did the courtyard we had reserved for Your Highness suddenly catch fire, they also took advantage of the fire to loot and threatened us with firefighting.'

'The several courtyards attached to the east wing rooms were burned to the point of being uninhabitable.'

'Moreover, after that, the merchant group demanded several more wing rooms, throwing our Ningyuan Temple into utter chaos, inside and out, filled with smoke and miasma.'

'We, we are just a group of monastics; we cannot possibly contend with this gang of Jianghu ruffians, and even the abbot wanted to value harmony, so we had no choice but to swallow our anger.'

'It's just that we have wronged Your Highness.'

Jiechi said this while feigning sorrow and wiping his eyes.

Upon hearing that it was because of a group of lowly merchants, Zongzheng Zhiyan directly laughed in anger.

'A group of merchants, and you still can't handle them?'

'Hasn't Magistrate Wu Xianling once received great kindness from your abbot? Why don't you go report to the officials and let him bring these lowly things to justice?'

'Your abbot usually does not concern himself with worldly affairs, only wholeheartedly studying Buddhist scriptures.'

'You disciples, none of you know how to share his worries and solve his problems; instead, you even tolerate those lawless commoners bullying him to his head.'

'I think you don't even want to be monks anymore.'

The princess flew into a rage; Jiechi and a group of monks trembled with fear, terrified that they might really not be able to remain monks.

He hurriedly knelt down, not caring even about the slight dignity of a monastic.

'Your Highness Princess, please calm your anger; Your Highness Princess, please forgive us.'

'It's really that female merchant, sly and vicious; last night at midnight, our little novice monk was preparing to go down the mountain to report to the officials, but who knew he was also waylaid and brought back by her people.'

'If it weren't for Your Highness coming today, our Ningyuan Temple would probably have completely become her pawn.'

'We, we really can't contend with her——'

The more Jiechi spoke, the sadder he became, actually squeezing out a few more tears.

Zongzheng Zhiyan gave a cold snort: 'Just a group of lowly merchants; can they even overturn heaven?'

'But you said, a female merchant?'

'This merchant is actually a woman?'

Jiechi: 'Yes, looking at her, she is still an unmarried young woman.'

'Aside from an old granny and a maidservant, all the rest following her are male attendants.'

'However, this poor monk sees… these male attendants do not look like ordinary servants; they seem more like… guards.'

'Guards?'

'Do you have evidence?'

'A merchant actually dares to keep guards and dares to provoke our Ningyuan Temple; he must be tired of living.'

Jiechi: 'They all have swords on them!'

'Last night, we actually saw with our own eyes them drawing soft swords from their waists, hidden in those belts, which are not usually noticed!'

Zongzheng Zhiyan: 'Very good.'

'Our palace wants to see just how arrogant this lowly merchant is, daring to be so arrogant!'

'Come, quickly bring that lowly merchant woman before our palace for questioning!'

A dozen or so strong guards stepped out: 'Yes, Princess!'

Jiechi's lowered head finally curled up slightly at the corner of his mouth.

This group of lowly merchants!

Yesterday's humiliation must be repaid today!

This time, not only those five hundred taels, they must spit out even more wealth to dispel the disaster.

No, at Ningyuan Temple they can help intercede.

Once they leave Ningyuan Temple, how the princess will deal with these merchants is no longer the concern of these monastics.

'A woman who makes a living through trade will have no foothold in the Imperial City; see how she can still survive!'

Jiechi turned his head and exchanged a glance with Jiechen; deep down, they were already determined to take revenge on Li Qingluo's group.

As Jiechi hummed a sutra, preparing to go tell Abbot Jiaoguan about this, passing a corner outside the hall, a sword that gleamed with reflected light suddenly lay across his neck.

'Master Jiechi, is this lawsuit still satisfying?'

Li Qingluo laughed as she walked out from behind the pillar.

She merely wore a smile that didn't reach her eyes, the icy chill in her gaze colder than the river in the twelfth lunar month, making people feel cold.

"Ah—"

Jiechi saw her and let out a startled cry.

Li Qingluo shoved a steamed bun into his mouth.

"Shut up!"

After her swift hand chop, the fat monk collapsed face‑first to the ground.

"Noisy."

Li Qingluo raised her hand behind her and said coldly, "Drag them away."

Soon after, the Killing Characters and Prince Su's guards ambushed from the east and captured from the west; in the blink of an eye, more than thirty of the over fifty monks from Ningyuan Temple were silently taken.

Just as Jiechen sensed something amiss, Jiekong came up and called out to him.

"Senior Brother Jiechen, the Second Princess urgently needs you over there."

Jiechen frowned but didn't rise right away: "Something's off. Have you seen Jiechi?"

"And Jieyi and the others—why are they nowhere to be seen?"

Jiekong scratched his head, still unaware of anything wrong: "It seems the Second Princess ordered them to do something. Senior Brother Jiechen, do you suspect something?"

Jiechen's brows knit tight: "Maybe I'm overthinking it."

Seeing his fellow brothers and sisters nearby, he shook his head and then asked, "Right, what does the Second Princess want me to do?"

Jiekong: "Isn't it the same old thing as every year?"

"The abbot refuses to see her, so she can only force us. This great Buddha is no easy master to serve."

Jiechen let out a cold snort: "We're the soft persimmons in that basket—who else would they squeeze if not us?"

But he had already discovered a secret.

Perhaps he could make good use of this…

On the way to the side halls, Jiechen noticed more and more that something was off.

"How come so many of our fellow disciples are missing?"

"Could they all have gone to run errands for the princess?"

Jiekong: "Yeah, maybe."

Jiechen thought to himself, "Why is Jiekong talking so strangely today?"

He suddenly turned his head to look at Jiekong and said, "You—"

A stick came down, and Jiechen collapsed to the ground at the sound.